Christmas Dinner – Chilled Salmon, Dill, and Cucumber Soup

So, it is coming up to Christmas Day, your planning your festive feast, and you want to have a great, relaxed and stress-free day as possible. Over the next few days I’m going to do my best to help with some top tips, recipes to cover all the essentials and some menu suggestions and I’m thinking of soup, not a thick heart-warming, winter wonder, but something light, delicate and chilled as you need to leave room for all the Turkey, trimmings and the Christmas Pudding. This recipe can be made the day before, keep in the fridge overnight and served straight from the fridge. How is that for easy?

You have probably tried Gazpacho the rich, Spanish blend of tomato, day-old bread and good olive oil or Vichyssoise the classic cold combination of leeks, potatoes, chicken stock and cream, but my recipe today is Chilled Salmon, Dill, and Cucumber Soup. This is a lovely starter for a relaxed festive party or a fabulous light lunch, particularly with a nice glass of chilled Riesling or a crisp, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Remove the seeds from the cucumbers and reserve until later, then cut the cucumbers into half centimeter dice. Heat half of the butter in a medium-sized, frying pan and quickly sauté for two minutes. Lightly season and pour on the Pernod and remove from the heat and leave to chill. In a medium-sized pan bring the fish stock to a gentle simmer and remove from the heat. Heat the remaining half of the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pan and add the spring onions. Cook for five minutes without colouring then add the flour, cook out the flour for two minutes, over a gentle heat, stirring continuously to prevent sticking and browning. Add the hot stock, stirring all the time and bring up to the boil. Turn the heat down and add the salmon pieces, lemon zest, and cucumber seeds. Simmer over the lowest possible heat for fifteen minutes regularly stirring to prevent the soup sticking. Add the cream and cook for two or three more minutes.

When the salmon is poached in the soup base remove from the heat and allow to cool. Add the lemon juice then using a hand blender or food processor blitz the soup. Pass the soup through a very fine sieve into a bowl and stir in the cucumbers and Pernod. Finely chop the dill and add to the soup. Check the seasoning, remembering when chilled the seasoning will be less prominent. Cover and thoroughly chill. Serve in bowls garnished with a little more freshly chopped dill and some smoked salmon pate on toast.

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Christian Gott

I am a Chef, restaurant manager and now writer with over twenty-five years of cooking experience. I live and work in the Channel Islands with my beautiful family. I’ve now worked on six islands hence the title of the blog. I have worked in probably just about every type of restaurant you can imagine, from beachside burger joints to famous pizza restaurants and in more than a few really good food pubs, historic country inns, and a former RAC Blue Riband UK Hotel of the Year. Along the way, I have helped to create a small informal restaurant group, demonstrated at food festivals and contributed to the Real Food Festival Cookery Book, Manner and Frost magazines.
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Koftas are mildly spiced grilled patties quite often served on a wooden skewer. They are an ideal light lunch or tasty supper dish, can be served as a starter or part of a Mezze selection. Recipes for Koftas stretch from Greece and Turkey throughout the Middle East and South Asia.

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